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Megan McArdle

Law school enrollments are plummeting. What happens next?

This will have a few knock-on effects worth thinking about. The first thing to consider is that law schools have opened at such a big clip in part because they are cash cows for the schools that operate them. You don’t need a bunch of expensive labs, just some classrooms and some law professors. Yet students pay tuitions much higher than that of other graduate programs. Shrinking or closing law programs will put financial pressure on other departments.

Another thing to think about is what happens to departments like English and Political Science. When I was an English major, law school was the obvious backup plan if you couldn’t get a job–indeed, more than a few kids chose it in order to ensure that they had the best possible GPA for their law school applications. If it becomes clear that this is no longer a sure-fire rescue plan, do kids start rethinking the interesting-but-non-remunerative departments?

But the largest knock-on effect is, obviously, more unemployed law professors. Ideally, this will happen mostly through attrition–people who simply never get hired into the legal academy (note that this worsens the job outlook for law grads at least slightly). But when an entire school shuts down, its professors are going to be thrown on the job market. And it’s going to be pretty hard for them to find another teaching job, given those enrollment numbers.

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No dumbass — obviously more lawyers competing for local market-share of low-end case work. Any lawyer struggling to make ends meet is not one you should be hiring anyway. If you hire an attorney and don’t ask about their finances YOU’RE DOING IT WRONG.

Once one passes their state bar there is no excuse for being out of work. This applies doubly in states with notoriously difficult BE.

Most people here complaining about frivolous lawsuits have considered filing one. I bet there are people here who actually had a good case but were unwilling to file because of the filing-stigma. Everybody is a critic until they need one. If you never need a attorney you’re either dead, have no responsibilities and/or zero-assets.

Legislators pass laws. Lawyer operate within those bounds. If you don’t like the rules of the game hire different legislators.

If there was one “race” I’d like to see genocide committed against it would the the “lawyer” race.

wildcat72 on January 19, 2013 at 10:35 PM

Seriously? You buffoon.

Your blog (or the blog you have linked to your username) tells a lot about you, genocidal inclinations notwithstanding. The following list of stereotyped-suppositions are based on episodes of Breaking Bad, BUCKWILD and Faces of Meth.
1) You have no degree.
2) If you did attend college you have not completed any upper division coursework.
3) You are precisely the type of buffoon that thinks Rand Paul will beat Chris Christie and be the next candidate.
4) You have been in court more than once…not as an attorney.

I have no problem pointing to the rubes in my party and saying STFU. You probably walk around your neighborhood open carrying with no ammo too.

Few things are more pathetic than the smug self-importance of a shyster like you. How many times must you trot out the cliche “everybody hates lawyers until they need one” before you realize we all get it, we just don’t happen to think you’re as GD special as you think you are? Your primary virtue is that for a healthy fee you can try to prevent one of your occupational brethren from attaching to an even bigger fee. You produce nothing of value, you simply consume the value produced by others. Get over yourself, you’re overhead, nothing more.

Obama has rendered most of the Constitution null and void for Whitey anyway, so it isn’t unusual that there would be a downturn in teaching the law. It is far more like feel-good debate rather than law.

Holder accuses banks of not making loans for Africans-in-America and the banks deny everything, and then they meekly settle for $500,000,000 in loan guarantees using money from the Federal Reserve to make “Black and other Minority loans” available.

Wchovia bank analyses the data and proves that American banks were only unwilling to make loans against people with bad credit (no racism involved) and Holder suppresses the report and settles out of Court for the above figure.

You don’t need “proof” or “law” anymore, just Jessie Jackson, AL Sharpton and corrupt Bureaucrats like Holder with power.

If there was one “race” I’d like to see genocide committed against it would the the “lawyer” race.

wildcat72 on January 19, 2013 at 10:35 PM

Thanks. I venture to say I help more people and donate more of my time to those who are getting screwed than you do. I never meet people on their best day. My life is consumed with people who need help and I lose a lot of sleep worrying about them. I don’t file frivolous lawsuits nor do I go looking to sue. But if killing me makes you feel better, then feel free to help those who need it in my absence.

What happens next is fewer unemployed lawyers. Only half of law school graduates were lawyers within a few months. And many drop out of the industry as time passes, especially in times like these. The market is clearly oversaturated, so a correction is long past in order. If law schools aren’t prepared for that, it’s their own faults, and I don’t feel sorry for them. Society is more than ready.

(And if you really want to make lawyers suffer, you should wish for more of them — sucking up the little air that’s left — rather than fewer.)

Just make sure you’re on the winning team. Nothing, nothing hurts more than a well-written judgment.

fitzfong on January 19, 2013 at 11:51 PM

You’re complaining about a cliched retort to a cliche-attack? OK Genius Jr, that works.

The bundle or assumptions you’ve made are drenched with misplaced, unintelligible ire. I’m going to guess that you’re actually POd because like Wildcat, you’re under-educated and over-extended. Attorneys are a convenient foil for the loser-class. Like I said before the only type of person who believes this is someone with no few assets or liabilities.

How many of your so-called political-leaders/heroes were lawyers or at least hold a JD?

Lawyers do not exist without clients. It’s very very easy for individuals to shop and patronize multiple attorneys. Same goes for insurance carriers and loan officers. Each of these professions is saddled with the burden of over-zealous, under-informed and sometimes unscrupulous consumers.

I commend you on your ethics and dedication. That being said, nobility should not be required to earn basic respect. What other professionals are expected to over-extend themselves on behalf of every client?

Lawyers are not first-responders, but are often first to be called once the sirens stop flashing.

You produce nothing of value, you simply consume the value produced by others. Get over yourself, you’re overhead, nothing more.

fitzfong on January 19, 2013 at 11:51 PM

When you get older, you will understand the value of an attorney…you do know that we are a country of laws, we are formed, as a country, to decide who owns what, who owes what…those things, as you grow older, will come to realize that attorney keep you out of trouble, more than cause trouble.

Ever buy an auto? A house? Rent an apartment? You can only do that because an attorney made it safe for you…

The bundle or assumptions you’ve made are drenched with misplaced, unintelligible ire. I’m going to guess that you’re actually POd because like Wildcat, you’re under-educated and over-extended. Attorneys are a convenient foil for the loser-class. Like I said before the only type of person who believes this is someone with no few assets or liabilities.

Lacking the ability to credibly argue on behalf of your own alleged profession, you lash out with the mother of all cliches: attempted character assassination to marginalize your dissenter and deflect the argument. It’s a very lazy and sloppy tactic that may work in political theatre, but I doubt it gets you anywhere in court.

How many of your so-called political-leaders/heroes were lawyers or at least hold a JD?

Capitalist Hog on January 20, 2013 at 12:40 AM

Holy non sequitur, Batman! My apologies, “Capitalist Hog”! You are one skillful advocate. People, if you want to see the brilliance $500/hour can get you, look no further than this work of art.

When you get older, you will understand the value of an attorney…you do know that we are a country of laws, we are formed, as a country, to decide who owns what, who owes what…those things, as you grow older, will come to realize that attorney keep you out of trouble, more than cause trouble.

Ever buy an auto? A house? Rent an apartment? You can only do that because an attorney made it safe for you…

right2bright on January 20, 2013 at 12:53 AM

Yeah, then he rested on the seventh day. Or something.

I’ve always known some attorneys to be breathtakingly self-absorbed with delusions of adequacy, but none were so clueless and arrogant as to suggest that society begins and ends with them. A friggin’ God complex? Looks like the profession has reached a new low.

My question, which you deftly avoided, was framed to illuminate your forked-tongue.

if you want to see the brilliance $500/hour can get you, look no further than this work of art.

Just so we’re clear when, where and with what words do I declare myself to be an attorney? If you want to see the brilliance of representing one’s self look no further than this buffoon. He’s arguing with every ounce pseudo-intellectualism based on a presumption. He’s exactly the type of guy you see scowling as he leaves the courtroom, snapping at his toothless girlfriend to “hurry up.”

Also, $500/hour is BS, entertainment and IP lawyers notwithstanding. If you want to be wealthy without a lot of work avoid all legal careers.

You are so obviously spurned. I’m guessing you paid some legal-aid firm to handle your eviction or you owe back child-support and your attorney was not as prepared as your ex-wife’s.

Capitalist Hog on January 20, 2013 at 2:08 AM

Ad hominem much, counselor?

Ought one broad-brush you along with the wretched shylock who took bread out of the mouth of my father’s four young children by stealing his money when he was in a very bad way back in ’71, forcing this then almost-thirteen year old to go to work to replace what the hideous ass had taken for the sake of the family (did I mention two of my siblings are seriously handicapped? Think of it, milk taken from the bottle of a one year old deaf girl, and bread from her ten year old deaf brother! The outrage!)? Or shall you restrain yourself and address the salient issues, however they may be presented?

The ball is in your court, counselor. Shall we wear our big-boy trousers?

Thanks. I venture to say I help more people and donate more of my time to those who are getting screwed than you do. I never meet people on their best day. My life is consumed with people who need help and I lose a lot of sleep worrying about them. I don’t file frivolous lawsuits nor do I go looking to sue. But if killing me makes you feel better, then feel free to help those who need it in my absence.

HawaiiLwyr on January 20, 2013 at 12:30 AM

Considering what an absurdly litigious culture we live in, you can understand why so many people get disgusted about lawyers in general, can’t you?

My impression of you from just this post is that you are a good and ethical person. I see that you are not very good at protecting your emotions, however – when your work affects your sleep, and you get defensive over a non-personalized comment, it is safe to say that you need to learn to relax and detach better for the benefit of your self!

This sounds better than it actually would be–it would contribute to a system in which the rich (individuals or businesses) would be the only people with access to the court system. For example, many people are quick to say someone who has been smeared by the media should sue, when in fact libel is very difficult to prove–the press has all sorts of protections–and a libel case can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Now imagine spending a quarter-million of your own money (if you could come up with it) only to lose, then getting saddled with whatever the other side claimed its expenses were. Very few of us would be willing to take that risk.

You are so obviously spurned. I’m guessing you paid some legal-aid firm to handle your eviction or you owe back child-support and your attorney was not as prepared as your ex-wife’s.

Capitalist Hog on January 20, 2013 at 2:08 AM

Here’s a tip, Sparky: your knee-jerk reactions and wild, speculative assumptions/accusations illustrate your poor impulse control and speak ill of your temperament and fitness as an attorney. If this is how you advocate for your own stated occupation, I weep for anyone desperate enough to employ your “services”.

The only declarations I’ve made herein are those giving testimony to your banality.

For the record, I advise nearly everybody, especially those in legal and/or LEO to maintain a distinct social/personal veil when online. Do not be goaded into giving up any identifying personal information regardless of how cathartic or “in your face” it may seem.

The only declarations I’ve made herein are those giving testimony to your banality.

For the record, I advise nearly everybody, especially those in legal and/or LEO to maintain a distinct social/personal veil when online. Do not be goaded into giving up any identifying personal information regardless of how cathartic or “in your face” it may seem.

With that, you’re done.

Capitalist Hog on January 20, 2013 at 7:37 PM

In other words, you’re in over your head and think you can extricate yourself with some dignity by simply declaring victory and moral superiority contrary to the facts. You fool no one. Gfy, parasite.